The busy holiday months are fast approaching, and it’s easy to become too distracted by it all and let our horses unintentionally fall by the wayside. To make sure that this doesn’t happen I’ve designed a quick and dirty fall nutrition checklist for you to keep in mind to help your horses stay healthy during this busy time of year.
Horses require six primary nutrients to survive; water, fats, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals. During the Fall months and deep into Winter, pastures can become barren leaving our horses with minimal to survive on without any supplementary feeding.
- Up the hay. As I just stated, pastures begin to die off leaving our horses hungry and needing to be supplemented with additional hay as a forage source. Time to head to the feedstore and stock up on your hay! Make sure it is stored in a dry environment and is free of any mold, dust, or weed clippings.
- Add back Vitamins A & E. Because the green grass is declining, they are probably not receiving enough antioxidants so it’s important to supplement them so they can maintain a healthy immune system and muscle functions.
- Swap out mineral blocks for plain white salt blocks. I recently wrote about the importance of salt in your horse’s diet not too long ago and I’m here again to remind you that plain white salt might be the best option for Fall! That’s because with the cooler weather we are not needing to replace the electrolytes lost in sweat but rather just maintain a healthy sodium intake.
- Reevaluate their supplements. Your horse’s workload often changes alongside the seasons and with the colder weather they might not be working and performing as regularly as they were during the Spring or Summer. This means if they are still taking a supplement that they don’t necessarily need, it’s time to pull it until their workload picks back up.
I think any experienced equestrian will tell you that 90% of owning horses is caring for them, while the other 10% actually goes towards riding [insert nervous giggle here]. It’s important to understand that your horses are so much more than just a tool or a quick escape for personal enjoyment. They are living beings that deserve your full attention all year long.
Is there something you would have added to this list? I’d love to hear from you!
